Overweight and Obesity Among American Indian and Alaska Native Youths

While childhood obesity rates are considerably higher than they were a generation ago among the general population, youths from certain racial and ethnic communities have been disproportionately affected. Sharply higher rates of overweight and obesity have occurred among African-American, Latino, American Indian and Alaska Native children and adolescents.

A series of fact sheets by Leadership for Healthy Communities, a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, highlight some of the statistics and studies that help explain this increased prevalence.